Last week, during a lazy afternoon in St James’ park, the kids and I came up with a game to while away some time in the sunshine – we’re calling it the Nature Hunt Memory Game. I actually remember playing something very similar to this at Brownies when I was younger and I’m sure it’s been around for even longer, but as far as they’re concerned we’re inventors of an amazing new game that the world has never seen before. Haha just don’t tell them!

The game is as simple as it gets but suprisingly addictive and kept my two entertained for ages. Here’s the idea:

Gather as many different natural objects as you can find and then lay them out on a tray or on the ground. You then have one minute to memorise the objects. Each player takes it in turn to be blindfolded/close their eyes whilst another player removes one of the objects. The blindfolded player then has to identify the object that is missing. It sounds easy but if you have enough objects it can actually be a real test of memory skills.

You can add a harder twist to the game by making the blindfolded person recall all the objects on the board. The player who remembers the most objects gets the highest score.

As St James’ Park was a little thin on materials the kids asked to go out again this weekend on a proper nature hunt around Hampstead Heath. We set off along our favourite walk armed with a basket and found lots of interesting things to bring back home. It was so sweet to watch my busy little explorers hunting out treasures and asking questions about all the different things they had found along the way.

It’s a great activity to improve memory and concentration and help engage kids with the natural world around them. It’s also just a really nice way to bring an element of fun into a weekend walk. And the beauty of it is you can do it almost anywhere – obviously you don’t really need the blindfold but my kids love any excuse for a bit of silliness!

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